Jan 30, 2008

Tun Mahathir says the current PM Abdullah Badawi government of lacking "guts" and selling out Malaysian sovereignty. When asked whether PM Abdullah Badawi should quit his post as PM, Tun Mahathir replied - "It is up to him to decide. It's also up to the people to decide. If the people want him to move on, if they think his administration is not benefiting them, they should make a decision.".

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday he would remain a thorn in the side of his successor in the run-up to elections, and would continue to speak his mind.

Until subdued by heart problems last year, the outspoken Mahathir was the most vocal critic of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, accusing his government of lacking "guts" and selling out Malaysian sovereignty.

"I still disagree on several of his policies, mainly allowing Malaysians to be subject to Singapore's wishes," the 82-year-old told select foreign media in an interview ahead of Wednesday's launch of his new book.

The book published for the first time his personal correspondence with world leaders including U.S. President George W. Bush, on issues ranging from terrorism to Islam and Myanmar.

"We are not as independent as before in terms of our attitude towards international affairs," said Mahathir, who ruled the nation for 22 years with an iron grip. "We tend to be very accommodative."

DEAD WOOD

In the interview, he took Abdullah to task for "wasting (public) money", dismissed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as a "daydreamer" and asserted that the domestic economy was in "bad shape" without a rally in commodity prices.

Mahathir said Abdullah's ruling front would be returned with a strong majority in the polls, widely expected by March, but said voters must get rid of dead wood in the coalition.

"But there are certain people whose contribution is negative. These people should not be chosen as candidates," Mahathir, wearing a collarless Nehru suit, said at his office in the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers.

"I still support the party and I still believe the party will win with a good majority but one must not confuse support for the party with support for the individual," he said.

On Anwar, Mahathir said his political enemy would not be a major factor in the coming elections.

"He's not a real factor," he said. "There's no more political future for him. If he thinks he's going to be the prime minister, it's daydreaming of the worst kind."

A charismatic speaker, Anwar was sacked from government in 1998 after falling out with Mahathir. Anwar then led street protests before he was arrested and later jailed on what he called trumped-up charges of graft and sodomy.

Released in 2004, his corruption conviction means he cannot stand for elected office or hold political office until April this year.

Mahathir, who has a history of heart problem, underwent a heart bypass in September and doctors have advised him to cut down on travel and other activities, including horse-riding.

The operation was Mahathir's second such surgery since 1989 and followed two heart attacks over the past 13 months.

His quarrel with Abdullah came to the fore after the government scrapped Mahathir's idea to replace a causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore with a bridge.

Asked if Abdullah should quit, he replied: "It is up to him to decide. It's also up to the people to decide. If the people want him to move on, if they think his administration is not benefiting them, they should make a decision."

For those that didn't manage to catch up with the latest news related to Lingam-gate, here is a list of updates so far:

Former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah today revealed that his successor to the post Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim was bestowed his Tan Sri title on the recommendation of then deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department. Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah hit out at his former boss Tun Eusoff Chin, saying that he lacked direction and leadership when he was top judge.

The Anti-Corruption Agency did not find any telephone calls made between Datuk V.K. Lingam and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim on the night the controversial video was recorded.

Lawyer Robert Lazar hit out at Datuk V.K. Lingam for alleging that he had lobbied for a position as an appellate judge. Lazar told the royal commission of inquiry into the Lingam tape this morning that he had not spoken to Lingam on that matter, despite the later alleging otherwise.

Tan Sri Vincent Tan says Tun Mahathir Is his Friend. He told the royal commission that he was in no position to influence the former premier Tun Mahathir on the appointment of judges. He also said he was disappointed with Lingam for talking rubbish, adding that the professional relationship between them would be re-evaluated.

Jan 23, 2008

While PM Badawi has conceded that the ruling coalition is unlikely to score a repeat of its 2004 landslide victory in the next general elections. (Malaysiakini) Former PM declared BN will surely win in the coming general election.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- "We will surely win," declared Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of the Barisan Nasional's (BN) prospects in forming the next government after the upcoming general election.

The former prime minister said he has no doubts about the Barisan being returned to power in the 12th general election.

"But the percentage... I don't know. They haven't told me yet, but I think it will be a very substantial victory," he told reporters when asked whether the ruling 14-party coalition could repeat the landslide victory as in the last general election.

In the 2004 general election, the Barisan swept 199 of the 219 parliamentary seats.

Earlier, Dr Mahathir launched "The Loaf", a concept bakery and restaurant he co-owned with a Japanese partner, Jiro Suzuki, at The Pavillion here.

The Loaf at The Pavillion is Dr Mahathir's second outlet after his flagship store in Langkawi.

Asked to comment on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Dr Mahathir said he did not believe the recent visit by US President George W. Bush to Ramallah in the West Bank would yield anything good to the crisis-prone region.

"Bush's visit will not bring any good to the region. It will be good if the visit could put a stop to Israeli atrocities, but after his visit, there was no electricity supply.

"By cutting off power supply, they killed many innocent people and sick people who require life support," he added.

Gaza City plunged into darkness on Monday when officials from the ruling Hamas party shut down the territory's only power plant after Israel cut off fuel supplies.

It was reported that the power shutdown affected about a third of Gaza's 1.5 million residents, and hours after the blackout, five patients died when electricity to hospitals were cut off.

Bush ended his landmark trip to the Palestinian territory on Jan 10, with a prediction that a Middle East peace treaty would be signed by the time he left office in January next year.

He had expressed the hope that an independent Palestine state would be established.

Lingam, 57, who took the witness stand before the Royal Commission of Inquiry, said he never had Ahmad Fairuz's telephone number and neither did Ahmad Fairuz have his telephone number.

"Until today I have never spoken to Ahmad Fairuz on the phone," Lingam said when questioned by conducting officer Datuk Nordin Hassan on whom he was speaking to on the telephone in the video clip.

"It looks like me," said Lingam when asked whether he was the man having a telephone conversation in the video clip.

"You (Nordin) can ask me a hundred questions (on the same matter), I will tell you the same answer. It looks like me," he reiterated.

Asked whether he knew the person who recorded the video clip, Lingam said he did not.

Lingam Was Not Drunk When He Spoke On The Phone, Says Witness

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam was not drunk or intoxicated when he spoke on the telephone allegedly brokering the appointment of judges, the Royal Commission of Inquiry heard Monday.

Loh Gwo Burne, a 34-year-old consultant, said there were "drinks" taken but he was of the opinion that not much drinks were consumed on that evening in late December 2001 in Lingam's house in Kelana Jaya.

"I don't think that even by the end of the night, Lingam was drunk," the 12th witness said in the inquiry which entered its 6th day today.

To a question by his counsel, Alex De Silva, on whether Lingam was "staging" it, Gwo Burne said: "No, sometimes I could hear a male voice on the other side (of the telephone)" but he could not hear what the person on the other end was saying.

Jan 18, 2008

They are not close friends, but he offered to pay half of his expenses for New Zealand trip.

(Malaysiakini) Former chief justice Eusoff Chin today said that he knew lawyer VK Lingam since early 1990s when he was a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge.

He said that he first met Lingam then when the lawyer appeared before him for a case in Kuala Lumpur.

However, Eusoff added that he did not have a close relationship with the lawyer.

“It was a normal relationship. It a matter of degree,” he told the royal commission of inquiry into the Lingam tape.

Later to another question, Eusoff said: "(We are) not extremely close".

Eusoff is the 11th witness to testify in the inquiry which was established to ascertain, among others, the authenticity of a video clip which featured Lingam allegedly brokering judicial appointments with the then chief judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

Eusoff was also badgered with questions over his overseas holiday trip with Lingam.

The former top judge responded repeatedly that he had met Lingam and his family by chance during the holiday and that Lingam had wanted to tag along.

At one point, an exasperate Eusoff told Bar Council lawyer Ranjit Singh: "You are out here to hammer me."

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the controversial Lingam video clip Friday heard that retired chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin and lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam equally shared the cost of transportation between two cities during a holiday with their families in New Zealand in 1994.

Eusoff, who was then the chief justice, said he only paid half of the transportation cost for a van from Christchurch to Queenstown after Lingam offered to pay the other half.

Eusoff said he, his wife Toh Puan Rosaini Mustaffa and their two children, Zubaidah and Johan, had hired a travel agency van driven by a New Zealander to go to Queenstown.

Malaysian Bar representative Ranjit Singh asked Eusoff why he did not tell Lingam he was not going to share the van with him (Lingam) and his family as it was wrong for a judge to do such a thing because Lingam was a lawyer and had appeared before him in court.

Eusoff replied that the van could accommodate between four and nine people and "there were eight of us in the van".

Ranjit Singh also asked whether Lingam had gotten hold of Eusoff's holiday itinerary and planned the trip just to be close to Eusoff.

Eusoff answered: "I can't say what he (Lingam) was thinking but Justice Datuk Edgar Joseph Jr, who had just come back from New Zealand, told me that it was a nice place to visit.

"I then asked my secretary to contact the travel agent to arrange a trip for me for a week or so. However, he (Lingam) wanted to tag along. It was out of my control."

Jan 17, 2008

Lingam-gate continues. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad testified Thursday that only recently he came to know lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam who is implicated in a video clip showing him allegedly brokering appointment of judges.

While Tourism Minister Tenku Adnan Tengku Mansor today denied his involvement in the appointment of judges, contrary to suggestions made by lawyer VK Lingam in his telephone conversation with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim. Tengku Adnan says Lingam is either Mad or Drunk. (Malaysiakini)

The former prime minister dismissed claims that prominent businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun had on several occasions brought Lingam to his house when he was the prime minister.

"That is not true," said Dr Mahathir to a question by the Malaysian Bar representative Christopher Leong who referred to some passages of the conversation in the video clip to the former premier, implying that Lingam had occasionally went to his (Dr Mahathir's) house.

Leong: Do you know V. K. Lingam?

Dr Mahathir: I've heard about him in the newspapers involving several cases. I only got to know him recently when I engaged his services in a civil suit filed against me by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Dr Mahathir, however, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip, that Lingam has been to his house after he was no longer the prime minister and after the conversation in the video tape took place.

"After I engaged Lingam (as counsel) to represent me in the civil suit, then only he (Lingam) has been to my house," he testified on the fourth day of the inquiry.

To Leong's question on whether Vincent Tan had introduced Lingam to him, Dr Mahathir replied that he would not be able to say precisely, but added that in order for him to contact Lingam, he probably spoke to Vincent.

On why he chose Lingam to represent him in the legal suit, Dr Mahathir said he thought Lingam would be a good candidate.

He admitted that Lingam was still his counsel.

Asked on whether he had seen the video clip, Dr Mahathir said: "I watched it on TV."

Dr Mahathir was also questioned on his relationship with Vincent Tan.

He admitted that they were friends.

"Yes, I know him (Vincent Tan). I have relationship with him for many years. I know him very well," he said.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up to ascertain, among others, the authenticity of a video clip featuring a lawyer allegedly brokering judicial appointments with a senior judge.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the V. K. Lingam videoclip controversy that he could not remember why he dropped two lawyers' names from the list for appointment as High Court judges in late 2001.

(Malaysiakini) Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad this morning took the witness stand at the royal commission of inquiry tasked to investigate the VK Lingam tape.

He is the ninth witness to appear before the commission on the fourth day of the inquiry. This is the first time that Mahathir is to account in court for his actions while in power.

Mahathir told the commission this morning that while he obtain opinions from other people on judicial appointments - whether solicited or unsolicited - he made the final decision.

He is also expected to be questioned on the appointments of Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim as the Chief Judge of Malaya and then subsequently as the Chief Justice. Mahathir would also be asked to justify the appointment on several other judges to the High Court.

Yesterday correspondence between Mahathir and the then Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah were tendered as evidence to the commission.

One of the letters showed that Mahathir had rejected two names forwarded by Mohamed Dzaiddin - Andrew Chew and Zainudin Ismail - and replaced them with others.

Jan 14, 2008

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) announces its second gathering which will take place on 23 February 2008.

In response to the PM and IGP’s suggestions that BERSIH holds its gatherings in alternative venues such as a stadium, BERSIH has decided it will apply for three venues (Merdeka Stadium, Bukit Jalil Stadium as well as Dataran Merdeka) for its second gathering.

We are mobilizing the rakyat again as our core demands for electoral reform have not been seriously addressed by the Election Commission and the Barisan Nasional. BERSIH will over the next few weeks intensify our efforts to take our message of electoral reform to Malaysian citizens and inform them about the rally on 23 February 2008.

As the Barisan Nasional has tried to portray any public gathering critical of the administration as aggressive or violent events, we are declaring our rally as a “Pesta” and a celebration of our demand for electoral reform and of the real democracy that all freedom-loving Malaysians want. Everyone is welcome to attend the Pesta Rakyat “Jom BERSIH” with their families.

BESIH reiterates that the PM’s and IGP’s statement that a stadium was offered for the 10 November BERSIH rally is not true at all. The question of alternative venues did not crop up in the discussions between BERSIH leaders and the police, prior to the rally.

In mobilizing for the Pesta Rakyat “Jom BERSIH”, we will inform the Rakyat about the following.Firstly, the electoral roll remains dirty and flawed, in contrast to Tan Sri Rashid’s claim that the electoral roll is now “free of dubious voters”, as published in The Star on 9 January 2008. To take a minor example, many Malaysians have received emails about three voters whose ICs are “991214740101″, “910815750017″ and “981231081137″ suggesting that they are either children or more than 100 years old. BERSIH was told by the EC HQ in Putrajaya on 31 December 2007 that the three were deceased voters and therefore their names would be removed. As at this morning, the names of the three are still on the electoral roll.

More seriously, voters have been transferred in and out of constituencies as and when the EC sees fit, it seems. Apart from that, in two recent cases, voters Sharmila Thuraisingam of Subang Jaya and Eric Liew of Petaling Jaya were registered without their knowledge ( as in the earlier case of prominent blogger Ahiruddin Atan aka “Rocky” ) respectively at the parliamentary seat of Kubang Kerian, Kelantan and state seat of Sekinchang, Selangor. These cases are essentially fraudulent registrations.

Tan Sri Rashid has still not responded specifically to Parti Keadilan’s assertion with specific details how 12 dead Malay voters in the voting district of Jaya Setia came out of the grave and voted in the Ijok by-election in May; as well as how three Chinese voters at the voting district of Pekan Ijok arrived to vote in the afternoon and were told that they had voted in the morning!

Tan Sri Rashid has not satisfactorily explained how as many as 8,643 voters have been transferred en mass into Ipoh Timur currently held by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader. Of that, 3208 are new postal voters, even though there are no new army camps or police stations in the area. Is Tan Sri Rashid so incompetent that he knows nothing about all these examples of electoral fraud? Or, is he shamelessly misleading the Malaysian public by insisting that the roll is clean without explaining any of the above instances?

Electoral rolls are only the most basic requirement of a clean and fair electoral process, something which EC has failed to comply with. BERSIH has spelt out four other basic demands, which has been conveniently ignored by the EC and the Government. Instead, they have been trumpeting loudly about the introduction of transparent ballot boxes, which BERSIH has never requested for and sees the RM16 million spent on 50,000 ballot boxes — RM320 per box — a waste of tax-payers’ money. It would be a world-class joke if EC thinks transparent ballot boxes equates to a transparent election.

Secondly, the implementation of BERSIH’s demand for indelible ink to prevent multiple voting, which EC has verbally agreed to, may not even take place. BERSIH has long demanded a trial run, involving members of the press, the political parties and civil society groups, to address the concern of “removability” of the ink and other technical issues. No response has been forthcoming from the EC.

The EC has also recently insisted that an amendment to the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations must be done for the use of indelible ink. Why did they not do it during the last year’s Parliament session if they were serious about implementating it? After all, the Fatwa Council gave the go-ahead for the issue in August last year. If the EC is serious and sincere about this, it must insist that the Government delays the imminent General Election until after the next session of Parliament.

Thirdly, the EC has not agreed to the abolition of postal votes for the military and police voters. In BERSIH’s 7 August 2007 meeting with the EC Deputy Chairman Dato’ Haji Wan Ahmad and four other Commissioners, we were assured that the police had agreed to allow polling agents to observe the casting of postal votes. At the time, Dato’ Wan Ahmad had added that the Ministry of Defence was not agreeable to the issue of allowing polling agents to observe the polling process.

Furthermore, the EC is also directly responsible for the ‘import’ or ‘export’ postal votes to whichever constituency they see fit, in order to influence the result in marginal seats, as we are now witnessing in Ipoh Timur.

Fourthly, nothing has happened with regard to BERSIH’s demand for free and fair media access. The mainstream media is blatantly used during elections to demonise Opposition leaders and instill fear in the people by the constant replay of footage of riots on state-owned TV stations. How can the elections be free and fair when voters are denied their right to making informed choices?

Fifthly, instead of considering BERSIH’s demand for a campaign period of 21 days minimum, the EC Chairman has threatened to shorten it if the people take to the street to protest against unclean elections.

May we remind the EC that the campaign period of 7 days 13 hours in 2004 is already the shortest possible allowed by law? It is indeed truly ironic then that our colonizers, the British, was able to give us a 42-day campaign period in 1955!

(CNA) KUALA LUMPUR : Observers in Malaysia suggest a possible comeback attempt by disgraced former Health Minister Chua Soi Lek, which could trigger intense politicking within his political party.

All is not lost for Dr Chua, who fell from grace and stepped down after a sex scandal.

Dr Chua had also resigned his parliamentary seat, and his vice-presidency at the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).

The MCA, a key member of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, is keeping his post vacant until triennial party elections due later this year.

Some political observers believe the disgraced former minister is buying time, and will try to stage a comeback.

Professor Khoo Kay Kim, Political Analyst, University Malaya, said, "He won't be the first politician in the world who's done something wrong, repented and made a comeback."

Lim Kit Siang, Leader, Democratic Action Party, said, "He's going to face considerable uphill obstacles because of what he has gone through, but one can never know..."

MCA chief Ong Ka Ting, who is now the Acting Health Minister, has postponed party elections originally scheduled in March or April.

As this is the first time the MCA's internal polls have been shelved, the announcement has sparked off speculation that General Elections will be called during that period.

Previous party polls had been heated affairs, with mudslinging and split loyalties.

Analysts believe a repeat of that would undermine the MCA's performance at the national level.

When he admitted that he was the man filmed in a sex tryst, Dr Chua suggested that he was the victim of internal politicking.

His meeting with his lover in a hotel was made into a DVD and circulated publicly.

Dr Chua said, "People are smart enough to use it, this is the most cost effective, time effective so I'm sure I'll not be the first and I won't be the last."

The MCA has issued a gag order barring party members from discussing the issue openly, a move that has raised eyebrows.

Mr Lim said, "It's a reflection of guilty conscience that his downfall is a result of MCA politicking and the more they talk about it, the more they'll highlight and bring home to the people that this is all unprincipled and MCA is jostling for power."

Professor Khoo said, "If there had been two groups, new team A, team B for example, one team has already lost its leader. I think it is better for the team which has lost its leader not to pursue their struggle."

However, MCA party chief Ong Ka Ting has dismissed speculation of a political conspiracy.

He said, "We commend him for putting the party and country before self."

Despite the show of unity, there is no denying that a Batu Pahat MCA member was jailed for having copies of Dr Chua's DVD. - CNA/ms

MIC Chief Samy Vellu has definitely overstayed his welcome. The long-standing MIC chief, who has been the top Indian cabinet minister since 1978 should really consider relinquish his post and let more fresh faces for this coming General Election. Through the recent Hindraf demonstration, the Indian community has already made their grievances be heard loud and clear by demonstrating in the streets.

Younger generations might not even know who was the previous MIC President, as people now think that the MIC is Samy Vellu and Samy Vellu is MIC, as he has held the presidency for nearly three decades. Do you remember who was the previous MIC President before Samy Vellu?.

His recent meetings with Indian expats, where he attended a conference of the Indian Diaspora was a total disaster.

(Malaysiakini) Several Malaysian participants at a just concluded annual meeting of the Indian diaspora in New Delhi have expressed disappointment with the 'lies and half-truths' of MIC president S Samy Vellu on the Indian community’s plight in Malaysia.

They are dismayed with Samy Vellu, who is also the works minister, for portraying a positive picture of the Indian Malaysians’ plight to the other participants of the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas'.

The two-day conference, which ended yesterday, attracted thousands of people of Indian origin to the Indian capital.

“He was asked by everyone here as to what is happening to the Indians in Malaysia. On every occasion he told them that everything was fine and that we are doing very well,” said S Nadarajah, a Kuala-Lumpur-based management consultant who attended the meeting in his personal capacity to represent the ‘India Baru’ (community members with a new awareness).

With so much lies and deceptions, it is indeed a very sad scenario for the Indian community in Malaysia. The recent spat between MIC and PPP doesn't benefit anyone too. MIC and PPP, both coalition partners in the ruling BN, have been involved in a running spat for some time now over the issue of who had failed the Indian community.

(Malaysiakini) An angry PPP president M Kayveas today said that he was going to sue MIC president S Samy Vellu for defaming his party at the recently ended meeting of the Indian diaspora in New Delhi.

He said that Samy Vellu had tarnished PPP’s reputation at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday without verifying his facts.

“He had told the press conference that a PPP member was there at the international conference to dispute whatever he (Samy Vellu) was saying on the conditions of the Indian community in Malaysia,” Kayveas told Malaysiakini today.

“He went on to suggest that PPP was acting to the detriment of the Barisan Nasional by doing so, and that he would seek action against us,” added the deputy minister in the prime minister’s department.

However Kayveas stressed that PPP had no representatives at the Indian diaspora conference.

“We were not part of his (Samy Vellu’s entourage). He did not invite us. We have never represented the Indian community in any conferences either locally or internationally.

“The Nadarajah he is talking about is not one of our members,” added Kayveas.

So maybe 2008 is finally the end of the road for Samy. Samy, It is time to let go. Don't stand in the way for fresh faces to come up in the next elections. You should focus your energy and time to work against the cause of the Malaysian Indians for justice and fair play and an end to their long-standing social-political, economic, educational, cultural and religious marginalization. For once, think of your Indian brothers and sisters this time instead of yourself.

Jan 8, 2008

The famous son-in-law says only his faher-in-law can comment on the coming election date.

KEPALA BATAS, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin says only the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has the absolute power and right to comment on the general election date.

"No need to ask politicians or ministers including the Election Commission chairman (Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman)... I don't understand why he (Abdul Rashid) said the election is around the corner," said Khairy who called for a stop to speculations on the election date by any quarters.

Khairy was responding to reporters' questions after he launched the "Happy Family, Cheerful Society" organised by the Yayasan Budi Penyayang here today.

Asked to comment on the election fever being felt in the country, Khairy said some groups have resorted to turn current issues such as cooking oil shortage and extra charges imposed by schools and parent-teacher associations into political issues.

"The temperature of the general election is very high to the point that whatever action taken by the government is considered to be for the benefit of the general election," he added.

“Who is Khairy Jamaluddin to tell everyone, including ministers, to stop speculating on when the general election would be held when he has not even been elected as a member of parliament?” asked Lim rhetorically in a statement.

Lim also asserted that although it was the prime minister’s prerogative to call for elections, it is the right of every Malaysian to speculate on its dates.

“Of course, everybody knows that he (Khairy) is the most powerful man in the country, presiding over the fourth storey of Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya and who controls and manipulates the Prime Minister's moves and decision-making.

“But such unaccountable and even unconstitutional exercise of power should not get to his head to make him publicly rebuke ministers for speculating when the next general election would be held...,” added Lim.

Jan 6, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia's election chief has reiterated that nationwide polls are "around the corner" despite speculation the government would hold back due to a host of problems, a report said Sunday.

"When I say the election is around the corner, you better believe me because it is not a joke," Election Commission chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman told The Star daily, echoing comments made in November.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had been expected to call general elections early this year, but has his hands full with unprecedented street protests, a sex scandal, and public anger over high fuel and food prices.

(Malaysiakini) The police today used water cannon to disperse a crowd who had earlier defied a ban and successfuly held a short candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka.

At the end of the brief 20-minute vigil, some remnants of the crowd remained behind in the vicinity of Dataran Merdeka attempting to continue their vigil against the Internal Security Act, a tough law which allows detention without trial.

The police, who had reluctantly allowed the candlelight vigil despite a police ban against the gathering, deployed the water cannon to disperse the remaining crowd who had assembled at a bus-stop in Lebuh Ampang after issuing them warnings to break up.

The Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI), the organiser of the vigil, had also urged the crowd to disperse.

Moments after being awashed with water at about 9.20pm, the crowd numbering about 30 ran along the Lebuh Ampang road, followed closely by the police aiming to arrest them.

Malaysian riot police break up rally to protest detention without trial law

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Banging batons against their shields, Malaysian police Saturday chased away hundreds of demonstrators who held a candlelight vigil to protest against a decades-old law allowing indefinite detention without trial.

A water cannon fired a single burst to drive away the last stragglers among the crowd in downtown Kuala Lumpur, ending a 90-minute standoff.

Police had banned the rally to protest the Internal Security Act. It was the latest in a series of protests that had rocked the government in recent months. Any gathering of more than four people requires a police permit.

"It is a peaceful gathering just to send a message that all citizens have a right to voice their feelings," said Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, chairman of the Abolish ISA Movement that organized the rally.

"This law is unjust. I think it is time to voice our human rights," he said, adding that the group would hold more protests.